Behind the Sharingan: A Biography of Itachi Uchiha
by Saiyasha Misamurai
Summary: Experience the life of the S-Class criminal through his own bewitching eyes.


Behind the Sharingan: A Biography of Itachi Uchiha

Experience the life of the S-Class criminal through his own bewitching eyes.

Chapter One

_Hide. Hide. Find a... a place to... Oh no, oh no. Where am I? Okay, calm. Breathe. I can do this. I have to._

A pregnant Mikoto Uchiha was fleeing in darkness. The village was under attack. Her job as a kunoichi had told her to stay behind, to defend her clan. Her job as a mother told her to run. The latter was the most prevalent among her sense of duties.

But after scaling the wall of the Uchiha compound, she found herself in more threatening territory. The village had at least been defensible... who knew what could be lying in wait out here? But rationality was lost on her now- she was following instinct. There was a very precious life she must protect. There was no time to think about it.

She followed the outer wall of the village until the clash of kunai and the shattered, rocky debris at her feet told her to change direction. She looked up; there were ten or fifteen Earth Shinobi attempting to gain entrance to the village, but ANBU was holding the line. Somewhere in the distance she saw the Great Fireball Technique; could it be Fugaku?

She didn't allow these things to distract her greatly. She had not yet been detected, and so she turned, weaving her way through the familiar outskirts of Konoha, knowing that if she stopped, she would be found.

It became a routine. Every paper bomb. Every shudder of the ground. Duck behind a tree. Gather your bearings. Pick up your skirts and start running again.

It was nearly an hour before recognizing the end of the forest. She was upon the northern bluffs; looking over the plains at her feet, she was torn between continuing and turning back when she felt something. Something wet was dripping down her legs. A pool of liquid had appeared where she was standing. Her eyes first narrowed in confusion and then widened with terror. The baby. It was time.

_Oh no, not now. Not yet. I can't do this. I can't...!_

But the baby was coming, and her protests would change nothing. Having never been proficient in medical ninjutsu, the daunting task before her forced her to seek the aid of nature; there were small creeks that wound their way through the plains. She made her way painfully down the incline, having to keep herself from falling, the baby from crowning, and them both from being detected by an enemy that could be anywhere. It was an eternity before she was on flat ground, and she was beginning to feel dizzy. Seeing colors, Mikoto relied on her hearing to detect the nearest collection of water. She stumbled her way to a gurgling stream, removed her shoes, and gently eased herself in.

The water was cold. The moon was high. She was visible, but did not care. The only thing she wanted was to birth this child and have it done.

And with that thought, she gave into the agony of childbirth, the flames of Konoha rising in the distance to her back.

He kneaded the fabric of her gown, and she took this as a sign to mean he was hungry again. It didn't take her long to discover her child was weak; his breaths were shallow, and he made no noise but the occasional whimper. She was terrified when he did not cry; babies were supposed to do that, weren't they? One almost always heard the tales, but where did fiction meet reality?

Opening her dress to allow the boy to feed, she gazed out at the plains. She wondered if it would be safe to return yet, but even if it was she doubted she could make the trip. They both needed a hospital, and she would have to eat at some point, but nothing sounded more welcoming than sleep. She leaned her head back against the cavern wall and drifted off.

Dogs barking. A small creature sat at her feet; a tiny pug with a headband. A ninja hound? A search party? She lifter her head up to see the fuzzy outline of a man outside the cave, then another. It was daylight.

"We found her!" the voice echoed, in the shelter or in her head she couldn't discern. More men appeared.

"Mikoto?" A distant voice reached her. The crunch of feet on the ground. Someone parted through the onlookers. Fugaku. He approached slowly. She could make out his gaze, first on her, then on the child she held, still sleeping.

"I haven't named him," she began, inwardly cringing at the sound of her own cracked voice. "I was waiting for you."

Fugaku lifted his wife and son. "We'll worry about that later. You're both alive, that's the important thing."

And the village, and Mikoto, and the newborn Uchiha, began to make their recovery.

His lungs had been underdeveloped, but he would be fine. She was so grateful that she swept her baby from his father's arms and danced in a circle about the hospital room.

"You look like you're feeling better," Fugaku smiled.

"I am!" Mikoto laughed. "When can we go home?"

"I think today, but the nurse wants us to pick a name."

"Oh." She stopped. A name?

She looked down at her baby's face. His eyes were open and he was staring up at her; it seemed as though he did not know which emotion he wanted to convey, and his indecisiveness lent him a look of surprise. How could one possibly find a name suitable enough to describe such a gorgeous creature?

"What about Itachi?"

"Hm?" She furrowed her brows. What an odd choice. "Why?"

"Itachi was your grandfather wasn't he? You're always telling me how much you looked up to him."

"Oh!" she hadn't been thinking straight; her grandfather! Of course! "I would have never remembered!"

"Quite the impression he made, I can tell." Her husband winked and she grinned.

"Sure. Itachi. I'm positive he'll live up to the name," she sat next to Fugaku and laughed lightly as their son let out a tiny yawn.

Blood.

Itachi watched from behind his mother. Bodies.

"Itachi, darling, you need to go with the other children." His mother had knealt before him. He couldn't pull his eyes away from the raging battle, brought to the front of the village. It had not yet breached the walls, but unless all leaf shinobi could organize and strike back, it soon would.

"Itachi!" Her mother shook his shoulder. His eyes moved to her face, but he made no other motion. "You need to go, now!" he was turned around and lightly pushed toward a group of others. An older child grabbed his arm and pulled him along. He didn't make much protest, but limply followed where he was pulled.

Something went off behind a building and they stumbled. Itachi looked back and his mother was no longer there. But the dead were. As a child of only four, he saw them, knew they were there, yet understood they were gone. To him this was no phenomenon. To him this simply was. He picked himself up and fled with the others.

"Is he all right?"

"I don't know. He hasn't been responding to me."

"What's his name?"

"Itachi Uchiha."

"Okay. Hey, Itachi? Hello?" Someone appeared before him and he watched them with stoic eyes. "Can you hear me?"

He ignored the strange person and looked out the window. It wasn't facing the battle, but the orange glow of flames were reflected on the many huts and walls and windows of the village. He swore. He swore to himself, to everyone-

"Itachi? Are you all right? Don't look out there, there's nothing you need to-"

"I swear I'll protect everyone. I swear." The promise was made earnestly, and while the two adults watching him dismissed them as the ramblings of an indignant toddler, they were perhaps the only words he would ever say in which he honestly and fully trusted his own intentions.

A year later, Sasuke was born. His promise counted double for Sasuke.

He wandered into the hospital on a peaceful day of rain, and his mother smiled. "Itachi. Come meet your brother." He stood on a bedside chair. At first he looked, but then held his arms out.

"You... want to hold him?" Mikoto bit her lip hesitantly, but seeing the look on his face, she decided to trust him. "Don't drop him," she cautioned, and handed over the newborn.

And there they stood, brothers.

"I'll always be there for you. I'll always watch out for you," Itachi whispered, cradling the babe and wondering about the universe and if any of it mattered when you had a brother like this.


End file.
